ART, CRAFT, DESIGN – JUNIOR CERTIFICATE

AN ROINN OIDEACHAIS AGUS EOLAÍOCHTA

THE JUNIOR CERTIFICATE

ART, CRAFT, DESIGN SYLLABUS

 ART, CRAFT, DESIGN – JUNIOR CERTIFICATE

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Art, Craft and Design are three inter-dependent disciplines. They are fundamental to
human existence, predating written language. They play a major role in human
evolution and development. Each involves a different way of thinking:

• Art emphasises ideas, feelings, and visual qualities

• Craft emphasises the right use of tools and materials
• Design emphasises planning, problem-solving and completion, using
drawing as a means of thinking

These unite in the basic human drive to shape the world, for functional purposes,
and to express and communicate ideas and feelings. The contribution of the visual
and plastic arts to life is a unique and enriching experience for all.

1.2 Art, Craft and Design provide a unique part of the education of the whole person,
through heart, head and hand, enabling the person to shape his or her world with
discernment, and to understand and appreciate the work of others. The benefits of
an education in Art, Craft and Design for the student at this developmental stage
extend far beyond a competence in the subject itself (and the ability to apply it
through life): Art, Craft and Design education develops a number of important
personal qualities, particularly those of initiative, perseverance, sensibility and self-
reliance.

1.3 This syllabus framework is designed for the full ability range in Junior Cycle. To
facilitate implementation of this syllabus, it is essential that sufficient time be
allocated to the subject.

1.4 The practical core syllabus in Drawing, two-dimensional Art, Craft and Design:
three-dimensional Art, Craft and Design, with Support Studies, is augmented by a
wide range of options. The teacher will select a minimum of one option for
Ordinary Level, and a minimum of two for Higher Level, to suit the ability,
 ART, CRAFT, DESIGN – JUNIOR CERTIFICATE

developmental stages, previous experience, interest and potential of the students.

The teacher's specialist skills, the school's resources and facilities, and local identity
and tradition should also be taken into account. The core syllabus is to be applied to
the teaching of the selected options, so as to widen and deepen the student's
development.

1.5 Support Studies involve History, Critical Appraisal, Evaluation, Appreciation,

Science, Technology and correct working vocabulary.

1.6 The lessons should be organised as sequential, practical, learning experiences

incorporating Drawing and Support Studies as appropriate.

1.7 The starting point (or subject matter) for each learning experience is crucial in
developing the student's capacity for focussed personal response. The motivation
should be visually oriented, and derive from the student's direct experience of the
natural, social or man-made environment.

2. AIMS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGN AT JUNIOR CYCLE

2.1 To promote in the student an informed, inquiring and discriminating attitude to his
or her environment and to help the student relate to the world in visual, tactile and
spatial terms

2.2 To develop a sense of personal identity and self-esteem through practical

achievement in the expressive, communicative and functional modes of art, craft
and design

2.3 To develop in the student an understanding of art, craft and design in a variety of
contexts - historical, cultural, economic, social and personal
 ART, CRAFT, DESIGN – JUNIOR CERTIFICATE

2.4 To develop in the student the ability to apply evaluative criteria to his/her own work
and to the work of others and in his/her daily encounters with the natural, social and
man-made environments and with the mass media

2.5 To promote in the student a practical understanding of and competence in the

principles and skills underlying visual and constructional design and problem-
solving

2.6 To develop through structured practical work the student's aesthetic sensibilities and
powers of critical appraisal, appreciation and evaluation and to enhance the
student's qualities of imagination, creativity, originality and ingenuity.

3. COURSE OBJECTIVES

The Art, Craft and Design course develops the student's ability to:

(i) give a personal response to an idea, experience or other stimulus

(ii) work from imagination, memory and direct observation
(iii) use drawing for observation, recording and analysis, as a means of thinking and for
communication and expression
(iv) use the core two-dimensional process in making, manipulating and developing
images, using lettering and combining lettering with image, in expressive and
communicative modes
(v) use the three-dimensional processes of additive, subtractive and constructional
form-making in expressive and functional modes
(vi) use and understand the art and design elements
(vii) use a variety of materials, media, tools and equipment
(viii) use an appropriate working vocabulary
(ix) understand relative scientific, mathematical and technological aspects of art, craft
and design
(x) sustain projects from conception to realisation
(xi) appraise and evaluate his/her own work in progress and on completion
(xii) develop an awareness of the historical, social and economic role and value of art,
craft and design and aspects of contemporary culture and mass-media
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ORDINARY LEVEL

HIGHER LEVEL

CORE OF THE COURSE

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4. COURSE STRUCTURE

4.1 The core syllabus

__________________________________________________________________

Drawing

Observation/analysis ] Drawing ]
Recording ] ]

Two-Dimensional ] ] Art and

Art, Craft & Design ] ]

Design
Image making ] Painting ]
Image manipulation ] Printmaking ] Elements
and development ] Basic photography ]
Lettering ] Graphic Design ] and
Lettering and image ] ]

Three-Dimensional ] Support
Art, Craft & Design ]

Additive ] Modelling/Casting ] Studies

Subtractive ] Carving ]
Constructional ] Construction ]

________________________________________________________________________
The core syllabus is described in more detail in sections 5 - 7.

4.2 Options

In addition to the core syllabus a minimum of one option for Ordinary Level, and
two for Higher Level students, will be studied. The treatment of each option should
reinforce and develop the core experiences.
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Choice of options from the following (each option to include Drawing and Support
Studies as relevant):

Animation Film-making Screen printing

Art metalwork Graphic design Soft sculpture
Batik Jewellery making Strip cartooning
Block printmaking Leatherwork Tapestry
Bookcrafts Mixed media sculpture Theatre design
Calligraphy Modelmaking Toymaking
Carving Modelling/casting Traditional crafts
Computer graphics Packaging (e.g. lace, hedgerow
Embroidery Photography basketry etc.)
Fabric print Pottery~ceramics Videomaking
Fashion design Puppetry Weaving

4.3 In teaching any option, the appropriate design process, including drawing and visual
research, and the relevant Support Studies must be part of the learning situation.

4.4 Portfolios, homework drawing books, Support Studies notes, as well as evidence of
three-dimensional work, should be kept as a record of work done throughout the
three-year course.

4.5 Where special arrangements are necessary to facilitate the assessment of student
work, the take-up of these options will be phased in on a pilot basis.

4.6 Art & Design elements

The elements of art and design listed below should be introduced, not in isolation,
but as an integral part of Art, Craft and Design learning experiences. However, it
maybe necessary, on occasion, to highlight elements through specific lessons.

Dot Colour Pattern Unity

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Line Form Volume Harmony

Shape Light Balance Contrast
Tone Space Scale Symmetry
Texture Structure Rhythm Proportion

4.7 Starting points

The student's direct experience, real or imagined, of the natural, human and man-
made environment should be the starting point for Art, Craft and Design work. The
experiences should be organised/selected by the teacher and student so as to provide
strong, visually orientated motivation.

4.8 Support Studies

History of Art, Craft and Design should be introduced in relation to the learning
experience, with examples from past and present, worldwide as well as local Irish
or European work, so as to acquaint the student with adult and child art, craft and
design from many cultures. Critical appraisal and evaluation skills should be
developed, so as to lead to an understanding and appreciation, as well as enjoyment,
of their own work and that of others.

There are certain scientific/mathematical/technological elements in Art, Craft and

Design, and these should also be taught as an integral part of each learning
experience, as necessary and as they arise.

For each material there are specific tools and equipment including certain power
tools, which must be used safely and correctly.

Art, Craft and Design processes and concepts have a particular vocabulary, and the
accurate use of relevant words is crucial to the student's developing grasp of the
subject area.
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4.9 Design

Design should not be regarded as mere decoration or embellishment of finished

products.

Students should be taught how to analyse design problems, to plan and research, to
use design processes appropriate to the task in hand, to clarify ideas through the use
of working drawings, to carry work to completion and to evaluate the finished
work.

4.10 Presentation and display

The student should be able to select work, trim, mount on a backing, and place
work on display board or wall, as well as make appropriate presentation of
notebooks, sketchbooks, and three-dimensional work.

5. DRAWING

5. 1 Observational drawing

The student is expected to develop

• observational drawing
• drawing from memory/imagination
• drawing for two-dimensional and three-dimensional Art, Craft and
Design
• the ability to represent three dimensions in a two-dimensional image.

The student should be able to observe closely, to analyse, to record and to

communicate clearly, using a variety of approaches and drawing media, embodying
the art and design elements.

The starting points, or subject matter, for observational drawing, can come from
anything in the natural, social or man-made environment. The art room itself should
have a regularly changing display of objects of visual interest, organic and
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inorganic, collected by teacher and students, and studies of the human figure should
also form part of the course. The development of observation, concentration and
drawing ability is greatly helped by drawing outside the art room, in the school and
in the locality, and by homework drawing.

5.2 Media and tools

The basic media which the student should learn to use, each according to its
expressive character, include various grades and points of pencil and eraser,
charcoal, pen, brush drawing, ink and wash, and, for colour studies, chalks, crayons,
coloured pencils and felt-tip pens.

The student should learn to select and compose the image, and should be able to
draw forms in contour, cross-contour, gesture drawing, and with tone, texture, and
colour, using basic linear perspective, and choice of viewpoint.

The student should learn to:

• use a T-square, set-square, drawing-board, compass and measure accurately

with a ruler
• simplify/abstract, trace, reverse, and enlarge

Support Studies: The student should understand the difference between, and various
purposes of, sketchbooks (as sources of ideas and images as well as record),
working drawings, and finished drawings. The student should be able to identify the
medium used in drawings by others, to analyse and discuss the content of a
drawing, and to form a judgement as to how well the purpose has been achieved.
The student should become familiar with drawings from different times and places,
for example: cave drawings, early Christian illumination, drawings by Durer,
Japanese brush drawings, and ink drawings of Van Gogh.
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6. TWO-DIMENSIONAL ART, CRAFT AND DESIGN

This involves image-making, image manipulation and development (for

example: enlargement, cropping, reversing, abstraction, changes in colour and
treatment) and sequential imagery, lettering, and lettering combined with image.

These are to be studied through the core syllabus in painting, printmaking, basic
photography and graphic design and display.

6.1 Painting

The student will be expected to use water-based opaque and translucent paints, with
selection and care of brushes, to carry out colour mixing (primary, secondary,
tertiary and complementary), to apply smooth coats, textured paint, and washes, to
analyse and paint local colour: and these should be learnt in conjunction with basic
pictorial composition from observation and imagination, using foreground and
atmospheric perspective to create depth and form, as well as linear perspective.

The starting points for pictorial composition can come from anything in
the student's actual or imaginative experience of the natural, social, and man-made
environment. This area of art is particularly suited to expressive work for this age
group. The student may develop different combinations of colour to enhance the
expressive power of the work.

Support Studies can provide a lively introduction to painted image from, for
example, Egypt, Crete, Russia, medieval and Renaissance European painting,
modern American and Irish work. The student should, however, experience the
difference between real paintings and reproductions in books or slides, and learn
how to enjoy visiting galleries, and to use the public libraries' art, craft and design
sections.

6.2 Printmaking
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The three simple processes outlined below produce very different ways of image
making, development, and of reproducing images and lettering. The student should
develop an understanding of the role of drawing and the importance of planning.
• Mono printing: may be done with hands, with found objects, or by drawing
on an inked plate and taking an impression with paper

• Relief/block printing: The block can be built up or carved away, leaving a

surface onto which ink is applied. The print gives a reverse image. The
image can be used to form patterns, or manipulated and developed with
regard for positive and negative shapes and quality of line. The student
should also learn the elimination process of lino printing.

• Stencil printing operates through flat positive and negative shape.

Overprinting adds to the colour possibilities. It is suitable for making a
number of repeat prints, and also for direct printing of lettering.

Support Studies should include a visit to a printer's, if possible, to exhibitions of

prints as well as studying printmakers images from a number of cultures.

6.3 Basic photography

The photographic image is different from the art image, or that perceived by the
human eye, and is the major means of visual communication of this century. The
student should learn how the pinhole camera works, how the sensitised film reacts
to light and is processed to create an image, about lenses, focussing, aperture,
speed, and how to use a simple camera. Photograms show how printing works, and
coloured snapshots, printed commercially, can be taken by pupils as part of their
image-making research and learning, particularly with regard to subject matter, and
learning composition.
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Support Studies will involve some basic scientific principles, and appraising
images from the history of photography, e.g. Fox Talbot, Daguerre, war
photography, and the use of photographic images in general advertising and in the
mass-media.

6.4 Graphic design and display

Graphic design and display is concerned with clear communication through images,
symbols, lettering and display.

The student needs to analyse what is to be communicated, and develop means of

conveying the information as clearly as possible.

The way of working should be systematic; with notes, sketches and visual research.

The student should be able to use a simple style of lettering, torn out, cut out and
collaged, stencil printed, or hand drawn, and painted or inked. There should be good
judgement of spacing and layout with or without an allied image.

The student should become familiar with sequential imagery, including analysis of
operations and activities, with storyboards, and with strip cartoons.

Support Studies: In awakening the student's interest in the whole field of visual
communication, the local environment provides examples of graphic design and
display in use, e.g. on shop fronts, the sides of vans, newspapers and magazines,
road signs.
 ART, CRAFT, DESIGN – JUNIOR CERTIFICATE

7. THREE DIMENSIONAL ART, CRAFT AND DESIGN

This area covers additive, subtractive and constructional processes. All the Art and
Design elements are involved. Drawing has a particular importance in the
development and representation of three dimensional work.

7.1 Additive process: Making forms by adding material gradually, as with clay,
plasticine, plaster, papiermache. A support may be needed which is usually a very
simplified version of the final form. Casting is related to modelling and can be a
way of making a fragile form permanent.

7.2 Subtractive process gives a form by carving away material, gradually defining the
form. This can be done with soap, a plaster block, polystyrene, commercial carving
materials, using a knife and rasps, or by carving wood or stone, with appropriate
tools.

7.3 Constructional process: Almost any material can be cut, shaped, fastened, to build
up a form or structure, using the appropriate tools and means of joining. Cardboard
with slots or glue, wire bent and looped, wood with nails, joints or curtain wire
hooks, cloth sections stuffed and stitched together, metal welded or brazed, are
some examples.

7.4 Three-dimensional work can be communicative, expressive or functional~

ranging for example from fine art sculpture and crafts to puppetry and
bookbinding, to packaging and product design. Starting points and visual research
will depend on the particular modes of expression or function chosen to give the
student a basic experience in each of the three processes, additive, subtractive and
constructional in order to begin to understand the different kinds of thinking
involved in each process. Records should be kept through drawings photographs~
video and other means.
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7.5 Support Studies could look at the different types of fine art sculpture, and across
the range of functional three-dimensional objects, as in architecture and
furnishings. School equipment bicycles and cars provide accessible examples of
three-dimensional functional design. Particular emphasis should be placed on
analysis by drawing, and the importance of space, scale, proportion and balance.
An understanding should be developed of the characteristics of different materials,
their appropriate use add suitability in determining a solution to a problem.

8. ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES
On completion of the course, students should be able to:

(i) give a personal response to an idea, experience or other stimulus

(ii) work from imagination, memory and direct observation
(iii) use drawing for observation, recording and analysis, as a means of thinking
and for communication and expression
(iv) use the core two-dimensional processes in making, manipulating and
developing images, using lettering and combining lettering with image, in
expressive and communicative modes
(v) use the three-dimensional processes of additive, subtractive and
constructional form-making in expressive and functional modes
(vi) use and understand the art and design elements
(vii) use a variety of materials, media, tools and equipment
(viii) use an appropriate working vocabulary
(ix) understand relevant scientific, mathematical and technological aspects of
art, craft and design
(x) sustain projects from conception to realisation
(xi) appraise and evaluate his/her own work in progress and on completion
(xii) develop an awareness of the historical, social and economic role" and value
of art, craft and design and aspects of contemporary culture and mass media.